MONTREAL, JAN. 25, 1999 -- Canadian Jewish Congress has joined the Canadian government in the forthright condemnation of the January 15 atrocity in the village of Racak in Kosovo.

In a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy, CJC national president Moshe Ronen and vice-chair of international relations and public policy Cary Green stated: "The on-going carnage, dislocation of population and destruction of property due to the conflict in Kosovo are in direct violation of the United Nations-brokered cease-fire. Canada and the international community cannot accept the continued disregard for basic human rights."

Furthermore, the CJC leaders emphasized that the hindering of the work of the OSCE’s Kosovo Verification Mission and that of the UN war crimes prosecutors must not go unanswered.

CJC called upon the government of Canada to urge NATO to deter and prevent hostilities in Kosovo, as well as to facilitate the discharge of its duties by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

"Canada," said Mr. Ronen, "as a primary proponent of the International Criminal Court, must assist in bringing to justice those who have committed atrocities and violate humanitarian law. As a world leader Canada should continue to pursue policies of peacekeeping and peace building in the region."

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